Christmas Fever
by ProfessorNef
Summary: Ren gets sick during winter, and he's a bit cranky about it. What is Horo to do when a grumpy little Chinese doesn't want to follow the doctor's rules? Oneshot


A/N: This is just a random one-shot I decided to write while working on my other story. Sorry, I promise to get back to "Wrong Direction", but I'm really looking forward to the holidays and this story just came into my head. Thanks for reading!

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Winter had caught up with many people. Fevers were the new black and just about everyone had one. Snow fell softly and silently outside the one bedroom apartment Horokeu and Ren lived in. The sound of the tea pot woke Horo from his daydream and he ran to the kitchen to take it off the stove, forgetting to put a glove on and burning himself. He cursed under his breath and soaked a towel in cold water, then wrapped it around his hand. He grabbed a small coffee cup and poured the hot water into it. Then he fumbled in his cabinet, looking for the Chinese tea bags. When he finally found it, he placed on bag into the cup and mixed the flavor in. To him, tea was just flavored water, but to the love of his life, it was a life saver when sick. Once the flavor was mixed well with the water, he threw the bag out and brought the cup with him to the bedroom. He cautiously opened the door, and sighed when he saw Ren sitting up in bed, reading a book. "Ren, you're supposed to be resting." He said, making his way over to sit on the edge of the bed and placing the cup into his lover's hand.

Ren scuffed and took a sip of his tea. "I'm perfectly fine." He said. He set the cup down on the bedside table and made to get off the bed, but was quickly stopped by Horo. "What? Can't I go watch TV in the living room? You ruined the comfort of reading a book."

Horo shook his head and began fixing the blanket. "No Ren, you have to rest." He placed his hand on Ren's forehead, feeling the heat and sighing. "Come on, drink your tea." He scooped up the cup and made to press it to Ren's lips, but the smaller boy turned his head away. "Ren, let's not be a brat."

The said boy shot Horo a glare, but refused to drink anymore tea. He took notice in Horo's hand covered in a cloth and he nodded towards it. "What happened to your hand?" he asked.

"I'll tell you if you drink this tea I worked so hard to make you." Horo replied.

With a shake of his head, Ren kept his face averted to the cup. "It makes sense. You forgot to put on a glove before removing the tea pot from the stove."

Horo's anger grew and he set the cup down. He removed the wet towel from his hand, seeing that the burn was nothing. He placed the towel on the floor and turned to the smaller boy. "I'll go get your medicine." He said, getting up from the bed and exiting the room to get the small bottle of pills in the bathroom. When he made his way back into the room, he saw that Ren was no longer in the bed. He grabbed the cup on the table side and sighed. "Ren! Get back in bed!" He heard a distant no, and then made his way to the living room where Ren sat, a blanket wrapped around him. "Come on, back to the room."

"No. I want to watch TV." He said, grabbing the remote and flipping the TV on. He began browsing through the channels, completely ignoring Horo as he stood there.

Horo made his way and sat on the couch. "Why are you being such a child?" he asked as he took out two pills from the bottle and held them out to Ren. When he received no answer, or a hand to grab the pills, he sighed deeply. "Come on, take your pills."

"No." Ren replied in a stiff tone. "I told the doctor I am perfectly fine. I am not sick." He said.

"Really, cause it sounds as though your throat is congested and you have a stuffy nose." Horo pressed, smiling a bit when Ren shot him a glare once more.

"I don't care. I hate winter." Ren answered.

Horo walked over to their Christmas tree and turned on the colorful lights. "What is there to hate about winter? It has the best holidays. And you get to share them with the ones you love."

Ren rolled his eyes and continued flipping through the channels. "I never said I didn't like the holidays, I just don't like the weather."

Horo sat back down next to the boy and held out the pills. "Take your medicine and you might hate it a bit less." When he received no answer again, he popped the pills into his own mouth and then filled his mouth with the warm tea. It all tasted terrible, but he had to do what he had to do in order to make his Ren feel better. He lifted his hand and grabbed Ren's chin, forcing him to look his way and then he pressed their mouths together. He didn't have to force Ren's mouth open, since he was about to protest, he saved Horo the trouble unintentionally. Horo transferred the tea mixed with pills into Ren's mouth and then pulled away when he was sure Ren had swallowed everything. He smiled and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "There, now you'll feel better." He said.

Ren was flushed red and he wiped his mouth with the blanket. "That was disgusting Horohoro! If you ever do that again, I will personally dig your grave!"

Horo waved his hand in the air. "Yeah, sure you will. Now do I have to carry you back to the room or will you go yourself?" he asked, eying his lover.

A few moments passed, but Ren gathered up the blanket and made his way to the hall. He stopped just before he rounded the corner to the hall. He turned to look at Horo who was watching him. "I love you Horokeu." He said.

"I love you too Ren."

Ren made his way back to the room and fell asleep quickly thanks to the medicine. Horo turned off the TV and stared at the Christmas lights. He made his way over and looked down the hall to see if Ren was coming, but he was sure he was asleep by now. He stood on his tippy toes and reached for the top of the tree. He made his way back to the couch and sat down, a small box in his hand. He watched the clock click to twelve. "It's Christmas day." He said, and placed the small box on the table. He opened it to reveal a diamond ring. He closed the box and placed it back into the top of the tree. "Merry Christmas Ren." He said to himself and smiled as he lay on the couch and dowsed off into a warm sleep.

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THE END


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